India were at the peak of their powers recently when they beat England 2-1 in the ODI series. Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya stood out in the third and last ODI but it would not be wrong to state with individual performances aside, the visitors could beat Jos Buttler’s England because they played like a collective force.

India have returned without losing a series on this tour of England which is a massive achievement. The Men in Blue have already flown to the Caribbean islands for yet another ODI series and while the debate continues on the future of the format, the India vs West Indies ODIs will still find some relevance.

First of all, it provides a great opportunity for a number of players in the squad to impress the selectors keeping the T20 World Cup in mind. The nature of the 50-over format is such that everyone gets enough time to showcase their skills. It is 50-overs and even if you are batting at No 5 or 6, you can still make a significant contribution to the game. Same applies for the bowlers, who get more time and balls to have a go at the batter.

Let’s look at the Indian batting, first up.

 Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, two of the bigwigs, are missing in the ODIs and this gives India another opportunity to try and test their bench. I would like to see Sanju Samson given a chance at some stage during the ODI series. At the same time, there are Deepak Hoodas, Ishan Kishans and Shreyas Iyers, who would probably play the first match. I would also like to see Ruturaj Gaikwad, who is an exciting young talent, given a run during the series. He is a sight to watch when he gets going and is definitely among India’s brightest talents. This is a cracking opportunity for some of these guys to make an impression against the Windies.

These ODIs have got relevance not only due to a World Cup coming up in a year’s time but also because there is a T20 World Cup knocking on our doors. Not to forget, there is only a little opportunity left from the perspective of the T20s. Hence, they need to ensure they shine bright in the ODIs to make selectors stand up and take notice before the T20 World Cup squad is announced. I believe India have made up their mind on who their top 5 or 6 will be in the T20 World Cup but these guys can still try and push their name forward with good performances in this series.

As far as India’s bowling is concerned, I have been hugely impressed with Arshdeep Singh. He gives you a lot of variety with left-arm and is difficult to pick as he showed on the England tour. Avesh Khan has been impressive, he has worked on his pace in last one year. What I especially like about this India squad is the good mix of youth and experience. We just talked about the youngsters and then there are Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravindra Jadeja who bring experience with them. Chahal will have extra responsibility on his shoulders as lone specialist spinner with Kuldeep Yadav and Ravi Bishnoi not in the ODI squad.

It will be interesting to see Shikhar Dhawan lead the side in the ODIs. Apart from leading the side, he will be in a mentorship sort of a role for youngsters in the side, trying to pass on some knowledge and wisdom with his experience.

From India’s perspective, this series will be like a fact-finding mission, where Rahul Dravid will be looking to have a last look at players, keeping in mind the key showpiece events coming up. If I am a young player or a player who has not made it big yet, I would be looking at the series as my last push, to try and get a place in the T20 World Cup squad. Put in amazing performances in the ODI series and give myself a chance.

Windies a good mix of youth and experience too

As far as West Indies are concerned, I am a massive fan of their captain Nicholas Pooran. That is why I am expecting big things from him. West Indies have a number of West players who have experience of playing against India or in India courtesy the IPL. They too have a nice mix of experience and youth.

They have players like Alzarri Joseph, Jason Holder and Rovman Powell, who have played around the world and in India. Them aside, Windies are a young side with the likes of Shamarh Brooks, Brandon King and Jayden Seales still trying to set their foot in the team.

I believe, in their current form, India will dominate the series and may also win it but there is no doubt that West Indies will be tough to beat at home and hence, I am expecting it to be a highly-competitive series.